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Noticed a drop of oil on driveway. uh oh. crawled underneath and could not locate source of any leak, it was blown all over the rear axle. More tracing and located the problem: the dreaded transfer case pump rub. Over time the internal oil pump (retaining clip) in the transfer case saws a hole in the T-case housing. Starts out like a pin hole and expands over time. Now we have troubles. Searched the issue and its more common that I believed. Several companies make a new retention part to eliminate the rub. Was forced to drop T case, crack it open and install the new part, seals, etc. To my horror the oil level was down to less than 1/2 qt. Cleaned up the hole and sealed with JB weld. For details, Google GM pump rub and be prepared for a shock.

Noticed oil weeping from the pto plate on the alison, and all the bolts were loose. easy fix.

Then the steering. Depressing. had a noticeable pull to the right and a hard clunk making left turns. As once before, had to replace tie rod ends, inner and outer. new pitman and idler arm. in doing this, the left ball joint just fell apart. uh oh. Then to make it more fun, determined the left front wheel bearing assembly was shot. Floppy loose and grinding like full of sand. Parts run!

Then off to alignment shop. they discovered the two upper bolts on the passenger side A arm were nearly sheared thru. More uh oh. So another parts store run and now its all done.

Expensive experience.

In the process noted slight fluid weep from the transmission coolant lines. Those were replaced 2 years ago for leaking and seems the culprit is back. Research shows a common problem. the General needs to step up and make better replacement parts. Might have some cu$tom hoses made up to last longer.

Recently and at random times, the ABS and E Brake idiot lights illuminate. Sheesh. Research says its a faulty ABS module (VERY expen$ive replacement part) or a bad ground. Cleaned up the ground and---no luck. Still randomly comes on. Think i'll just live with that.

Finally, when tank is low and go for a full tank (another expen$ive experience) the fuel gauge goes bonkers, sweeping fully left, right, back and forth like a windshield wiper. Research shows possibly bad ground on sending unit. The ground is accessible without having to drop the tank. Cleaned it up, so next fill up we'll see if that helped.

And to think I was saving up for a Tacoma. Guess i'll be driving the Chevy a little longer than planned. Since all new parts and the truck is paid for, why not. Or sell and list the upgraded parts... At least its good to go for another 100k miles I just do not like the 10 mpg on a good day.

Of all the failures, the puny front steering components seem to fail regularly and the transfer case pump rub is a real concern for any late model GM with 4WD. Benchmark is 100k miles to do the retrofit.

Now, off to work to pay for all this!

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Wow, what's happened to General Motors? We owned pre-IFS G.M. 4x4s that were bulletproof despite their quirks: 1) A '70 K10 pickup that could have used disc front brakes but otherwise worked flawlessly; 2) a '73 K10 SWB with SM465 and NP205 transfer case that was in my view the best full-size 1/2-ton 4x4 pickup ever built; 3) a '86 K2500 Chevrolet Suburban that needed nothing more than to get rid of the factory Gov-Loc rear differential; and 4) an '87 K2500 GMC Suburban that we bought with 160K miles, sold near 200K miles and heard most recently from the buyer that the truck has gone way beyond 300K miles and still runs well—Mobil 1 engine oil in the hard-worked 350 V-8!

Your front end is a disappointment, I don't recall so much as a steering knuckle ball-joint or tie-rod end replacement on any of our G.M. beam front axle era front ends (primarily highway driven). As for the ABS module (which is a G.M./Kelsey-Hayes weak point), there is a positive solution. Our youngest son needed a module for an immaculate, very low mileage GMC Z71 Sonoma 4x4 (less than 40K original miles, timed out of warranty). We did the sticker shock pricing of the $600-$800 G.M. OEM replacement part fleecing and opted for a rebuilding solution from a company at Idaho. They know the weaknesses of every module, and these Kelsey-Hayes ABS units are well known there. Try Module Master at: http://www.modulemaster.com/.